Article carrier

ABSTRACT

A basket style article carrier is disclosed having a bottom wall, sidewalls joined to opposite side edges of the bottom wall, end wall panels joined to the end of the edges of the sidewalls and extending inwardly therefrom, riser panels foldably joined to the inner edges of the end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier, a handle secured to the riser panels, and partition structure secured to the sidewalls and to the riser panels on each side of the handle, the partition structure being formed by supplemental separate blanks and being specially constructed so as to be extensible.

United States Patent l 1 3,ss4,401

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee ARTICLE CARRIER l 1 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl

Int. Cl Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1966 Forrer Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner-James R. Garrett Attorney-Walter M. Rodgers ABSTRACT: A basket style article carrier is disclosed having Ybottorn wall, sidewalls joined to'opposite side edges of the bottom wall, end wall panels joined to the end of the edges of the sidewalls and extending inwardly therefrom, riser panels foldably joined to the inner edges of the end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier, a handle secured to the riser panels, and partition structure secured to the sidewalls and to l the riser panels on each side of the handle, the partition struc- 5 ture being formed by supplemental separate blanks and being specially constructed so as to be extensible.

' PAIENIEDJAIIZBTII saw 1 or 3 INVENTOR j PRENTICE J. wooo BYM%%% ATTORNEY PATENTEU JAN 1 2 um sum '2 or 3 INV ENTOR PRENTICE J. WOOD ATTORNEY PATENTED JAN 1 215m SHEET 3 0F 3 FIG.?

R 0 N E V N PRENTICE J.WOOD V ATTORNEY ARTICLE CARRIER Where light protection for the packaged items is a necessity, it is necessary that the side and end walls of the carrier be constructed of a height which is substantially equivalent to the height of the package. items.

Since economy in the use of material is a desirable objective in the construction of article carriers such-as are made from paper board and the like material, it is virtually impossible to effect economy in the sidewalls and end panels and reduction in the quantity of material is thus logically achieved in carriers of this type by lowering the height of the handle. If the handle is lowered, hand gripping space may not be available immediately adjacent the packaged items. For this reason and in accordance with one aspect of this invention, partition structure interposed between each sidewall and the medial portions of the carrier is constructed so as to be extensible. In this way articles immediately adjacent the hand gripping aperture in the handle can be tilted outwardly so as to provide hand gripping room adjacent the handle. Of course such outward tilting of the articles extends the transverse partition structure on each side of the handle and also imparts an outward bowing action to the sidewalls.

According to this invention an article carrier which is specially adapted for use with bottles is provided which comprises a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls joined to the bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end panels foldably joined to the end edges of the sidewalls and extending inwardly therefrom, riser panels foldably joined to the inner edges of the end panels, a handle interconnecting the riser panels, and partition structure secured to the riser panels and to the sidewalls on each side of the handle. According to one aspect of the invention the partition structure is secured to the riser panels and sidewalls by flaps and a web panel interconnects one end of the partition structure with an adjacent flap so that outward tilting of the articles adjacent the hand gripping aperture of the handle imparts a stretching or elongating action to the transverse partition structures thereby to impart an outward bowing to the sidewalls thus afiording hand gripping space in a carrier of the low handle type.

The partition structure is of double the thickness of the riser panels and of other carrier panels and the riser panels are arranged in back to back relation in such manner as to provide a partition which is equivalent to the partition structure in thickness up to the shoulders of the packaged bottles to afford bottle protection as required by governmental regulations and one riser panel at each end of the carrier extends inwardly to reinforce the handle and to afford a junction for a part of the partition structure at a level above the shoulders of the packaged bottles.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a setup carrier constructed according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main blank utilized in forming the carrier of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a plan view of a separate supplemental blank which is manipulated to form transverse partitioning structure on either side of the handle of the carrier; FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but which shows the supplemental blanks of FIG. 3 secured in position with respect to the main blank; FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are plan views of a main blank and its associated separate partition structures and which depict three different folding and gluing operations through which the blanks of FIG. 4 are manipulated in order to form the complete collapsed carrier as depicted in FIG. 7; and in which FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a setup carrier and which depicts the positions of the parts of the supplemental blank of FIG. 3 when the carrier is setup.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates a sidewall to which the bottom wall 2 is foldably joined along" fold line 3. A medial fold line 4 is formed in bottom wall 2 and notches 5 and 6 are formed at the ends of fold line 4. End wall panels 7 and 8 are to end wall panels 7 and 8 along fold lines 13 and 14 respectively. A locking notch 15 is formed in riser panel 11 and a similar locking notch 16 is formed in riser panel 12. These notches cooperate with one or the other of the notches 5 and 6 to hold the carrier in set up condition as is well known. Handle panels 17 and 18 are foldably joined to riser panels 11 and 12 along fold lines 13 and 14 respectively and a cutaway portion 19 is formed in panel 17 and a flap 20 is struck from panel 18 and foldably joined thereto along fold line 21. A supplemental fold line 22 is formed in flap 20.

The other side of the main blank of the carrier is of similar construction and comprises a pair of handle panels 23 and 24 which are foldably joined to the handle panels 17 and 18 along medial fold lines 25 and 26 respectively. A cutaway portion 27 is formed in handle panel -23 while a flap 28 is struck from handle panel 24 and foldably joined thereto along fold line 29. An additional fold line 30 is formed in handle panel 24. Riser panels 31 and 32 are foldably joined to handle panels 23 and 24 along fold lines 33 and 34 respectively. Notches 35 and 36 are formed in riser panels 31 and 32'respectively. End wall panels 37 and 38 are foldably joined to riser panels 31 and 32 along fold lines 33 and 34 respectively. Sidewall 39 is foldably joined to end wall panels 37 and 38 at its end edges identified by the numerals 40 and 41 and a glue flap 42 is foldablyjoined to the bottom edge of sidewall 39 along a fold line 43.

Transverse partition structure is provided according to this invention and may constitute a pair of supplemental separate blanks such as that depicted in FIG. 3. The blank of FIG. 3 comprises a medial panel 44 which is generally of T-shaped configuration and when assembled in the finished carrier the medial panel 44 is arranged with its horizontal part defined by projections 44A and 443 secured to the riser panels and with its vertical part extending downwardly. As is apparent from FIG. 3, 44 is downwardly tapered for economy. Foldably joined to the medial panel 44 along the sides thereof are transverse panels 45 and 46. These panels 45 and 46 are foldably I joined along fold lines 47 and 48 to the side edges of medial panel 44. A pair of flaps 49 and 50 are foldably joined respectively along fold lines 51 and 52 to the edges of transverse panels 45 and 46 respectively which are remote from medial panel 44. These flaps 49 and 50 are manipulated and secured as by glue to a sidewall of the carrier to form support for the end of the partition structure. Projections 44A and 44B and flaps 49 and 50 constitute flap portions for securing the partition structure to the riser panels and sidewalls.

Interposed between the adjacent edges of transverse panel 46 and flap 50 is a web panel 53 which is in a general alignment with the fold line 52 and which is foldably joined to transverse panel 46 along fold line 54 and to flap 50 along fold line 55. A short transverse cut 56 defines the botto rnrnost extremity of web 53. At the other end of the supplemental blank, a web panel 57 is foldably joined to transverse panel 45 along fold line 58 and to flap 49 along fold line-59. A short slit 60 defines the bottom edge of web panel 57. i

In order to manipulate the supplemental blank of FIG. 3 into the condition necessary for its application to the main blank, the transverse panel 46 is folded downwardly along fold line 48 into a position of flatface contacting relation underneath the medial panel 44. During this folding operation web panel 53 and flap 50 remain in the plane of transverse panel 46. An application of glue is made to the underneath surface of flap 50 as represented by stippling in FIG. 3 and an application of glue is made to the underneath surface of flap 49 so that these flaps are adhered to sidewall V1 with the parts occupying the positions indicated in FIG. 4.

For use on the other side of the carrier, the transverse panel 45 of a blank of FIG. 3 is folded downwardly along fold line 47 to occupy a position of flat face contacting relationship to the medial panel 44 and an application of glue is made to the flaps 49 and 50 so as to cause the supplemental blank to adhere to sidewall 39 as depicted in FIG. 4. The blanks of FIG. 4 are ready for folding and gluing operations to complete the carrier. Of course the glue application could be made'to the sidewalls 1 and 39 in appropriate areas ratherthan to the flaps of the supplemental blank if so desired.

To form the carrier from the blanks of FIG. 4 an application of glue is made to the left-hand ends of handle panels 17 and 23 and to the inner ends of riser panels 11 and 31. Similarly an application of glue is made to the inner surfaces of handle panels 18 and 24 anto the horizontally disposed projecting part 44A of the medial panel 44 of the supplemental blank secured to sidewall l and the projection 44B of the other supplemental blank as indicated by stippling in FIG. 4. Following this application of glue, handle panels 17 and 23 are elevated and swung toward the right simultaneously. This operation causes the end wall panels 7 and 37 to swing upwardly and toward the right along fold lines 9 and 40 so that riser panels 11 and 31 adhere to handle panels 17 and 23 and handle panels 17 and 23 adhere to handle panels 18 and 24. Wide riser panel 31 adds reinforcement to the handle and by connecting with panel 44 adds the equivalent of a strut under the handle. Simultaneously riser panel 31 in the region indicated at 31A becomes affixed to horizontal end portion 44B of medial panel 44 associated with sidewall 39. The blank then appears as indicated in FIG. 5.

Thereafter an application of glue is made to the inner surface of the right-hand ends of handle panels 18 and 24 and to the inner ends of riser panels 12 and 32 as well as to projection 44A of the supplemental blank adhered to sidewall 1 and the riser panels 12 and 32 are swung upwardly and toward the left along the fold lines 14 and 34 and the parts then occupy the positions depicted in FIG. 6. This operation causes the part 12A of riser panel 12 to become adhered to the projecting part 44A of the horizontal portion of medial panel 44 to provide added strength under the handle medially of the carrier and to reinforce the handle by the wide riser panel 12.

In order to complete the carrier, an application of glue is made to the blank as indicated by stippled areas in FIG. 6 and the sidewall 39 riser panels 32, 31 and the end wall panels 37 and 38 together with the supplemental blank associated with sidewall 39 are elevated and folded forwardly along the medial fold lines 25 and 26 so that the parts then occupy the positions indicated in FIG. 7 which constitutes a complete and collapsed carrier.

During this latter folding operation, the right-hand end 44A of the supplemental blank which is secured to sidewall 39 becomes secured to riser panel 12 in the area thereof designated 12A so that riser panel 12 is affixed to the horizontal part of the medial panel 44 of the supplemental blanks on both sides of the carrier. In like fashion at the other end of blank 44 the projection 44A of the supplemental blank which is secured to sidewall 1 becomes adhered to the area 31A of riser panel 31 and the area 31A is thus secured to the medial parts of both supplemental blanks. Of course glue flap 42 is secured to an edge of bottom wall 2 and the inner surfaces of the handle panels are secured together as well as the face contacting portions of the associated riser panels as is well known in the art. The lower portions of riser panels 12 and 32 are in flat face contacting relation and together are as thick as the blank of FIG. 3 to meet governmental requirements. This double thickness of riser panels extends up above the shoulders of the package bottles to provide adequate bottle protection and separation while the wide upper parts of riser panels 12 and 31 reinforce the handle and connect with parts 44A and 44B of the supplemental blanks.

As is apparent from FIG. 8, the transverse panels 45 and 46 extend from the medial panel 44 transversely of the carrier and constitute partitioning structure which is secured to the sidewall 1 by flaps 49 and 50. Should the article disposed between the transverse panels 45 and 46 be tilted toward the left as viewed in FIG. 8, the web panels 57 and 53 simply tend to align themselves with the transverse panels 45 and 46 so that the effect of this arrangement is to render the transverse panels 45 and 46 extensible thereby to accommodate tilting of the article disposed therebetween. As explained this tilting action provides hand gripping room adjacent to the medial panel From the description thus far it is apparent that the downwardly extending parts of medial panel 44 and of transverse panels 45 and 46 are tapered in-a downwardly direction. From FIG. 3 it is apparent that the pair of supplemental blanks may be struck from a single blank in nested relation with the downwardly tapered portions of one blank interposed between and alongside the downwardly tapered portions of the other blank. In this manner economy in the use of material is effected. Furthermore an extremely low handle is provided according to this invention which also effects significant economy in the use of material. Strength is not jeopardize due to the fact that the riser panels 31 and 12 are secured to the ends of the horizontal projection of each medial panel so that substantial strength is provided in the region immediately below the handle by virtue .of securement of projections 44A and 44B to the riser panels.

When the flaps such as 20 and 28 are folded in a transverse direction through the apertures 19 and 27 respectively, a horizontal portion of each flap is captured underneath the handle and constitutes the part of each flap which is disposed between the fold lines 21 and 29 and the medial fold lines 22 and 30 respectively. This additional material provides horizontal strength and tends to prevent horizontal bending and twisting of the handle.

I claim:

1. An article carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined to' the vertical ends of said sidewalls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the vertical inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier medially thereof, a handle secured at its ends to riser panels at the ends of the carrier, and partition structures disposed on each side of said handle and interconnected with a sidewall and with said riser panels respectively, each partition structure having flap portions at the ends thereof, means for securing one flap portion of each partition structure to said riser panels and for securing the other flap portion of each partition structure to the adjacent sidewall, said partition structures themselves being extensible transversely of the carrier thereby to accommodate outward bowing of the associated sidewall relative to said handle.

2. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein a web panel is foldably connected with one end of each partition structure and with the adjacent flap portion toform a yieldable connection therebetween to render each partition structure extensible.

3. An article carrier according to claim 2 wherein each web panel is of generally trapezoidal configuration and wherein each web panel is disposed with one side thereof in general coincidence with the top edge of a transversely disposed portion of the associated partition'structure.

4. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said partition structures comprises a medial panel secured to riser panels at both ends of the carrier, a pair of spaced transverse panels foldably joined to each of said medial panels, each pair of transverse panels extending outwardly toward one of said sidewalls, and two pairs of separate flaps, each flap being foldably joined to a different one of said transverse panels and being secured individually to the adjacent sidewall.

5. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said partition structures is formed from a separate blank comprising a medial panel of generally T-shaped configuration having a horizontal part and a vertical part, a pair of transverse panels foldably joined along side edges thereof to opposite side edges of said vertical part of said medial panel, a pair of flaps foldably joined respectively to side edges of said transverse panels remote from said medialpanel, and a pair of web panels foldably joined respectively to said flaps and transverse panels and forming a connection therebetween in general coincidence with the fold lines between 'said flaps and transverse panels respectively. 3

6. A carrier according to claim 5 wherein the lower portions of said medial and transverse panels are of downwardly tapered narrowing configuration.

l l 1 l 7. A bottle carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined to the vertical ends of said sidewalls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the vertical inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier medially thereof, a handle secured at its ends to the riser panels at the ends of the carrier, a partition structure comprising a pair of back-to-back medial panels secured to the riser panels at both ends of the carrier, 21 pair of spaced transverse panels foldably joined to each of said medial panels, each pair of transverse panels extending outwardly toward the adjacent one of said sidewalls, and two pairs of separate flaps, each flap being foldably joined to a different one of said transverse panels and being secured individually to the adjacent sidewall.

8. A bottle carrier according to claim 7 wherein the riser panels at each end of the carrier are disposed in back-to-back relation and configured to provide a two-ply thickness of material from the bottom portions thereof up to the shoulders of the packaged bottles and wherein said transverse panels are approximately twice as thick as said riser panels.

9. A bottle carrier according to claim 8 wherein one riser panel at each end of the carrier is wider than the associated riser panel in the region adjacent the bottle necks and wherein said one riser panel affords substantial reinforcement for the carrier handle.

10. A bottle carrier according to claim 9 wherein said medial panels are of T-shaped configuration having horizontal and vertical portions and wherein the horizontal portions thereof are secured to the wide portions of said riser panels at each end of the carrier.

11. A partition structure blank comprising a medial panel of generally T-shaped configuration having a horizontal part and a vertical part, a pair of transverse panels foldably joined along side edges thereof to opposite side edges of said vertical part of said medial panel, a pair of flaps foldably joined respectively to side edges of said transverse panels remote from said medial panel, and a pair of generally trapezoidal web panels foldably joined respectively to said flaps and transverse panels and forming a connection therebetween in general coincidence with the fold lines between said flaps and transverse panels respectively. 

1. An article carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined to the vertical ends of said sidewalls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the vertical inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier medially thereof, a haNdle secured at its ends to riser panels at the ends of the carrier, and partition structures disposed on each side of said handle and interconnected with a sidewall and with said riser panels respectively, each partition structure having flap portions at the ends thereof, means for securing one flap portion of each partition structure to said riser panels and for securing the other flap portion of each partition structure to the adjacent sidewall, said partition structures themselves being extensible transversely of the carrier thereby to accommodate outward bowing of the associated sidewall relative to said handle.
 2. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein a web panel is foldably connected with one end of each partition structure and with the adjacent flap portion to form a yieldable connection therebetween to render each partition structure extensible.
 3. An article carrier according to claim 2 wherein each web panel is of generally trapezoidal configuration and wherein each web panel is disposed with one side thereof in general coincidence with the top edge of a transversely disposed portion of the associated partition structure.
 4. An article carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said partition structures comprises a medial panel secured to riser panels at both ends of the carrier, a pair of spaced transverse panels foldably joined to each of said medial panels, each pair of transverse panels extending outwardly toward one of said sidewalls, and two pairs of separate flaps, each flap being foldably joined to a different one of said transverse panels and being secured individually to the adjacent sidewall.
 5. A carrier according to claim 1 wherein each of said partition structures is formed from a separate blank comprising a medial panel of generally T-shaped configuration having a horizontal part and a vertical part, a pair of transverse panels foldably joined along side edges thereof to opposite side edges of said vertical part of said medial panel, a pair of flaps foldably joined respectively to side edges of said transverse panels remote from said medial panel, and a pair of web panels foldably joined respectively to said flaps and transverse panels and forming a connection therebetween in general coincidence with the fold lines between said flaps and transverse panels respectively.
 6. A carrier according to claim 5 wherein the lower portions of said medial and transverse panels are of downwardly tapered narrowing configuration.
 7. A bottle carrier comprising a bottom wall, opposed sidewalls joined to said bottom wall along opposite side edges thereof, end wall panels joined to the vertical ends of said sidewalls and extending transversely inward therefrom, riser panels joined at the vertical inwardly extending edges of said end wall panels and extending inwardly of the carrier medially thereof, a handle secured at its ends to the riser panels at the ends of the carrier, a partition structure comprising a pair of back-to-back medial panels secured to the riser panels at both ends of the carrier, a pair of spaced transverse panels foldably joined to each of said medial panels, each pair of transverse panels extending outwardly toward the adjacent one of said sidewalls, and two pairs of separate flaps, each flap being foldably joined to a different one of said transverse panels and being secured individually to the adjacent sidewall.
 8. A bottle carrier according to claim 7 wherein the riser panels at each end of the carrier are disposed in back-to-back relation and configured to provide a two-ply thickness of material from the bottom portions thereof up to the shoulders of the packaged bottles and wherein said transverse panels are approximately twice as thick as said riser panels.
 9. A bottle carrier according to claim 8 wherein one riser panel at each end of the carrier is wider than the associated riser panel in the region adjacent the bottle necks and wherein said one riser panel affords substantial reinforcement for the carrier Handle.
 10. A bottle carrier according to claim 9 wherein said medial panels are of T-shaped configuration having horizontal and vertical portions and wherein the horizontal portions thereof are secured to the wide portions of said riser panels at each end of the carrier.
 11. A partition structure blank comprising a medial panel of generally T-shaped configuration having a horizontal part and a vertical part, a pair of transverse panels foldably joined along side edges thereof to opposite side edges of said vertical part of said medial panel, a pair of flaps foldably joined respectively to side edges of said transverse panels remote from said medial panel, and a pair of generally trapezoidal web panels foldably joined respectively to said flaps and transverse panels and forming a connection therebetween in general coincidence with the fold lines between said flaps and transverse panels respectively. 